Self Care and Home Activities

Routine developmental milestones can often involve monumental challenges

Judy Benz Duncan, Occupational Therapist

Self help skills for children can range from the daily living skills of bathing, dressing, and grooming, to cleaning their rooms, fixing simple meals and snacks, and helping around the house.

The ability to perform these routine daily tasks are often taken for granted, and expected as a “normal” part of growing up. All these skills require the development, growth and learning involving very precise and complex neurological processes.

For neuro-typical children, the development of these skills takes place through normal patterns of development which are usually experienced through the everyday play and work of children.

For children with sensory integrative deficits, or children with developmental delays, routine developmental milestones can involve monumental challenges.

Some common examples include:

• A child with deficits in fine motor skills (strength, coordination, eye-hand control) and motor planning will for example have difficulty in learning to tie their shoes.

• A child with visual and perceptual issues will have trouble matching clothes when dressing, or finding what they are looking for.

• Those children with sequencing and motor planning deficits may not know where to begin a simple routine task.

• Children who have sensory processing disorder or who are tactically defensive may find dressing in weather-appropriate clothing or shampooing their hair a stressful, anxiety causing, overwhelming, and often make the activity seem like torture.

The following blogs and articles provide a variety of ideas and suggestions. These activities and recommendations are by no means the only things that you may want to try or talk with your service providers about. Use the ideas presented as a springboard to modifying or changing the activity to fit your own child’s individual needs.

Most all tasks and activities can be broken down into smaller manageable parts for your child. Tools and utensils can be adapted and modified for small hands or hands that need help with grasp and coordination. Working with your child’s providers, who know you and your child, can help you develop a plan that works.

Giving your child learning opportunities in self help, self care, and basic home tasks, gives them the world in growth experiences, and learning, as well as fosters the development of self esteem, pride, and feelings of independence!

Blogs and Articles “in the works!” Check back for New Posts!

Clicking on any of the “active links” will take you to a page of blog links for that topic

See below for the active links - other topics are in the works and will be added to this page as soon as they are completed! I have placed the topic/picture here as a “place-holder” and to let you know what will be coming soon! If you have other ideas that you would like to see, please drop me a line and let me know what you would like to see added! Thanks for your support of TheraPlay4Kids.com

Toileting and Hygiene CLICK & GO! Feeding & Mealtime Skills CLICK & GO!

Helping Around The House - CLICK & GO! Dressing Self Help Skills CLICK & GO!

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Hair Cuts (blog coming) Bathing and Bath-Time (in the works)

Oral Care / Hygiene CLICK & GO! Grooming / Hair Care (stay tuned!)

Bathrooms Away From Home (coming soon!) Taking Medications (Blogs coming!)

Nail Care (coming!) Going Out with SPD CLICK & GO!

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Disclaimer Note: Before beginning any new program, activity, exercise, or make changes, be sure to consult with your child’s doctor, and service providers for individualized guidance, direction, and supervision. These ideas and suggestions presented on TheraPlay4Kids are meant to help support and promote, however, since each child, diagnosis, medical status, and situation is different, one should seek help and approval from your child’s providers in order to achieve the best outcomes and ultimate safety for all involved. Please make use of this site and all the information presented at your own discretion for the safety and well-being of all involved.